On Wednesday, for the second consecutive day, the prices of precious metals advanced in unison. Among them, silver performed the best, soaring by 4% and reaching its highest price of the month. Gold experienced the smallest percentage gain at 1.2%. However, the yellow metal also hit an almost two-week high.
Gaining for the fourth straight time following nine consecutive losses, gold for December delivery tacked on $22.10 to end at $1,948.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Aug. 10.
"It (gold) was a little oversold ahead of itself and we’re getting a bounce on some bargain hunting and then short covering," Reuters quoted Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, adding that a slight dip in yields is also helping.
Gold futures traded between $1,926.20 and $1,949.70. They rose by 0.2% on Tuesday, they increased by 0.3% on Monday, and inched 0.07% higher on Friday.
Up for a fifth session following four straight declines, silver for September soared by 94.2 cents and closed at $24.392 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since July 31. For the day, silver prices ranged from $23.47 to $24.43, after rising by 0.5% on Tuesday and jumping by 2.7% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
October platinum added $12.70, or 1.4%, to $938.20 an ounce, trading between $925.80 and $943.
- Palladium for September delivery added $16.60, or 1.3%, to $1,281.40 an ounce, ranging from $1,259 to $1,302.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Monday, they increased by 36,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 756,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 8,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | June | July | August | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 36,500 | 35,000 | 41,000 | 52,500 | 719,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 134,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 60,000 | 0 | 60,000 | 445,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,500 | 8,000 | 17,000 | 16,500 | 19,500 | 312,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 760,000 | 756,000 | 1,482,000 | 209,100,000 | 2,339,000 | 14,154,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
